I was looking at the highest grossing movies of all time this morning, and was struck by the fact that 5 movies that came out this summer appear to be on their way to the top 25 of all time and over 300 million each. And after 3 straight weeks of the top grossing movies making almost 10-20 million more than expected (Simpson’s 70 mill, Bourne 70 mill, Rush Hour 50 mill) I think it’s pretty evident that people are going to the movies more than ever before.
For fun, the top 10 money making summers for the film industry (based only on movies to crack the top 50)
10. 2005 – 380.3 Million (all from Star Wars Episode III)
9. 1982 – 399 Million (all from ET)
8. 1996 – 548.1 Million (Independence Day and Twister)
7. 1994 – 658.2 Million (Forrest Gump and The Lion King)
6. 2006 – 667.4 Million (Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and Cars)
5. 1999 – 724.6 Million (Star Wars Episode I: and The Sixth Sense)
4. 2002 – 955.8 Million (Spider-Man, Star Wars Episode II, and My Big Fat Greek Wedding)
3. 2004 – 1.059 Billion (Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, and Harry Potter: Azkaban)
2. 2003 – 1.169 Billion (Finding Nemo, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Matrix Reloaded, and Bruce Almighty)
1. 2007 – 1.539 Billion+ (Spider-Man 3 , Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Transformers, and Harry Potter: Phoenix)
Is the case closed? Is 2007 the best summer for movies ever? I’m partial to 2003 and 1996, but have a hard time arguing with the sheer numbers. How ’bout you?
By the way, is it only coincedence that my birth is situated the summer between the two movies that are widely established as the genesis of the summer event movie, Jaws and Star Wars? I’m not sure what that means, but it must mean something right?